Education hall of fame inductees to be acknowledged

The term “homecoming” will have even more meaning for Tonganoxie High School educators and their families later this month.

The Tonganoxie Education Foundation will be honoring the inaugural class of the Tonganoxie Education Hall of Fame at halftime of the THS homecoming football game Friday, Sept. 17 against Mill Valley.

Ken Mark, who is on the Tonganoxie Education Foundation board, said the idea for the hall of fame started roughly two years ago.

“This is a way to say thank you to people who have made contributions to our community and in this case, our schools,” Mark said.

Being inducted into the first class are:

• The late Tom Beatty, who served in the Tonganoxie school district in the 1930s and then served as a teacher and coach from 1944-66.

• The late Charles Edward Miller, who served on the school board from 1936 until his death in 1955. He and his wife Corrine established the Miller Scholarship in 1939. He also served in the Kansas Senate and ran against Alf Landon in the 1934 governor’s race.

• The late Corrine Wooten Miller, who served on the school board from 1956-1969. She was president of the board when the high school was built and was instrumental in locating the school at the present site. In 1989, the endowment for the Miller Scholarship doubled because of Peruvian Connection, a mail-order business owned by Miller’s daughter, Biddy, and granddaughter Annie, and was renamed the Miller-Peruvian Scholarship.

• Jim Conway, who served the school district from 1955-86 as a math and driver’s education teacher at THS before serving as THS assistant principal and then Tonganoxie Elementary School principal.

• Colene Slawson DeHoff, a 1947 THS graduate and Miller Scholarship recipient. She served the district in a variety of roles from 1958-92, ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade teacher to administrator.

• Robert Matthews, a 1948 THS graduate and Miller Scholarship recipient who was a longtime educator. He is retired from the San Diego Community College system as president of College Adult Education Centers.

• Marilyn Roberts Lobb, a 1954 THS graduate who worked in the district from 1967-94 and taught various grade levels and coached different sports.

• Phil Lobb, a longtime teacher and coach who worked in the district from 1957-94. He taught physical science, match, physical education, psychology and general math during the course of his Tonganoxie career. He also coached various sports at THS and was THS athletics director for many years.

A plaque will be presented to inductees, or in the case of posthumous inductees, their families or friends. An identical plaque will be placed in a display case in the hallway that runs north of the THS gymnasium and performing arts center, Mark said.

Festivities Sept. 17 start with a homecoming parade at 2 p.m., an inductee reception that is open to the public from 3-5 p.m. at the Myers Hotel and then the game and induction. The football game starts at 7 p.m. at Beatty Field.

At 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, an academic achievement breakfast will take place in Tonganoxie Middle School. Matthews will be the speaker at the breakfast, which is a fundraiser for the education foundation. Students who had exemplary scores on state assessment tests during the 2009-10 school year will be recognized at the breakfast.